


Line and Inclination

by signalbeam



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Adolescent Sexuality, Bad Matchmaking, F/F, Game Spoilers, triangulation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-06-17
Packaged: 2018-11-07 18:59:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11065146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/signalbeam/pseuds/signalbeam
Summary: Ann tries to marshal support for Akira by setting up Hifumi and Makoto on a date. The fact that this plan doesn’t make sense is the plan! Or something like that, anyway.





	1. Cicadas

**Author's Note:**

> Major spoilers for the main story up to 12/24. General spoilers for Lovers and Star confidants.

Ann spotted the top of Makoto’s head between the aisles of the bookstore on Center Street. At first she thought it was a mistake, but the braided headband and the rough chop of hair at the back of her neck couldn’t be anyone else. She had stopped in the middle of Shibuya, and people were parting around her, an annoyed tilt in their shoulders, and she thought about joining the crowd again and heading on back home. Then she decided to go in. She might not be a genius or anything, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t go into a bookstore. 

The bookstore had rearranged its shelves since the last time she had come here, and it took her a while to figure out where Makoto was. It was nearly the end of January. The last time she had seen Makoto and Haru had been two weeks ago when they had tracked down the woman who had been pressured into giving false testimony against Akira. They had both shown up despite the Center Test being right on top of them. Makoto’s left eyelid kept twitching and Haru’s hair had a dent on the left side. Honestly, she had felt bad for even dragging them out of their studying caves, even though Makoto and Haru had both put in a lot of work for this to even happen; but they had looked so tired and, even then, had been their usual selves. They hadn’t stayed long to celebrate after they persuaded the woman to go back to the police and change her testimony and had gone straight home. 

She passed the popular books section and wound up in rows and rows of magazines, with Makoto, in her turquoise peacoat, standing seriously by the end of the aisle. She raised her arm, about to call out to her, when she stopped. Makoto had her face in a home décor magazine that she couldn’t possibly be interested in. Her eyes were fixed on someone browsing through used books, a girl with long hair and in a Kosei uniform. She kept raising the magazine, then lowering it. Now she was creeping after the girl, ducking behind another magazine stand. Some strange feeling floated right between the collar of Ann’s jacket and her neck like the one she got when she stepped in front of the camera for the first time. She went up to Makoto and tapped her shoulder. 

“Eep!” Makoto squeaked. She dropped the magazine and bent down to pick it up, glaring up at Ann as she stood back up. 

“That’s so cute!” Ann said. “Eep! Just like in an anime or something.” 

“I’m glad you found that funny,” Makoto said, sticking the magazine under her arm. 

“Don’t be mad! It’s just—it’s been a while,” Ann said. “I saw you from the window. Are you looking for something specific?” 

“No. I…” She trailed off, her eyes heading back in the direction of the girl from Kosei. “Do you know who that is?” 

Ann, too, looked at the girl. She was beautiful, Ann thought, dismayed. She recognized the quality of her beauty, her small face, her sharp eyes, the way her black hair had a type of perfect darkness that would not betray her coloring by suddenly turning honey brown or orange under the high-powered studio lighting and force the makeup artist to redo everything. Her hips and thighs looked consciously slim, her calves delicate. Ann did another sweep with her eyes. No doubt about it: she had to be a model. 

“I might’ve done a shoot with her sometime,” she said. “It doesn’t feel like I know her from that scene, though. I can’t place it.” 

“I saw her once with Akira. But I don’t know who she is.” 

The girl had found what she was looking for and was heading over to the cashier with two books. Makoto bit her lower lip, her front teeth flashing visible. 

Something about Makoto’s slightly dry lips, the way her cheeks gathered up at the corners of her mouth, got her thoughts all mixed up. She looked up at the ceiling and pretended to think. She wanted to help Makoto, of course. Makoto was her close friend. And as she stared up at the fluorescent lights, she said, “We could just talk to her.” 

“Talk to her?” Makoto repeated under her breath. 

“Right. You know. Walk up to her, say hi, ask her if she’d like to talk to us for a second. Like how you used to do it to us when you were investigating us for the principal.”

“Is it too much for me to hope you’ll forget about that time?” 

Ann had only meant to give Makoto a gentle ribbing, but she could see that Makoto wasn’t in the mood. The stress from the exam and making sure Akira was released from juvie was probably getting to her. 

“Hey,” Ann said. “I’m sorry if I’ve been pushing your buttons. I can go up and ask her for you, if you’d like.” 

“I’m sure I’ll remember it if we see what books she got.” 

“She’s right over there. It’ll be a lot faster.” She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, smiled, and cocked her hip to the side. “Leave it to me!” 

“Ann—” 

With that, she turned on her heel and went after the girl from Kosei. She couldn’t see what Makoto’s facial expression was, but she bet it was gratitude. 

The girl was already out the door, heading down Central Street. Ann broke into a jog and called out to her, a loud, “Hey, excuse me!” that caught the attention of several people—and, by some miracle, its intended target. 

“Takamaki-san,” the girl said, and smiled prettily. People seemed to part around them for that smile. 

“Uh, yeah,” Ann said, trying to not seem surprised. 

“I’m sorry. It’s not a surprise you don’t remember me. We had a shoot on a beach in the summer, although for different magazines. My mother was a fan of yours.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss.” 

“Oh! No—that’s not what happened! She had a change of heart, you could say. I’m Hifumi Togo. I’m pleased you remembered me, even a little.” 

“Togo-san,” Ann said, lowering her head. “I’m sorry for calling you out suddenly. My friend…” Now she was realizing how fishy it’d sound if she finished the rest of this sentence, like she was trying to set Hifumi up with some guy. “We have a friend in common. Akira Kurusu from Shujin Academy?” 

“Yes!” Her eyes lit up. Now that Ann had been watching Hifumi longer, it was easier to see how awkward she was face-to-face. She kept her face angled generally down and her hair kept dropping in front of her face, but when Ann mentioned Akira, Hifumi raised her head up with excitement. “I know. How has he been? I haven’t heard anything since Shido resigned. I’ve sent him some messages, but he’s stopped reading them, and I haven’t seen him at the church, either. If you could give me any news, I’d be most grateful.” 

“He’s—he’s in some trouble,” Ann said. “I don’t know how much you know about him, but he’s, um…” 

Hifumi beckoned Ann closer, then even closer. They were so close that their knees were almost touching. Was it really necessary to stand this close? Hifumi leaned in. Her hair tickled Ann’s cheek. 

“He’s a Phantom Thief, isn’t he?” Ann nearly jumped. Instead she swallowed and sent spit flying down the wrong tube. She coughed a few times. Hifumi offered her some water and she took it. “I’ve known for several months,” Hifumi said. “My mother’s change of heart was thanks to him. Is he in trouble?” 

“He’s in juvenile detention,” she whispered back. “He’s been framed. I’m—sorry, give me a second.” Everything was moving faster than she had expected. 

“It’s fine,” Hifumi said. She brought her hands up to Ann’s, holding onto them as she stepped away. “I always knew one day I’d have to help him, too. Your friend over there, the one in the green coat—she’s one of his comrades, isn’t she?” 

Ann looked over her shoulder. Makoto was there, holding onto a shopping bag. She couldn’t believe Makoto had bought a book for the sake of a cover when she sucked so much at tailing someone. She didn’t know whether she wanted to laugh or cry. Hifumi beckoned Makoto over, too. 

“Togo-san,” Makoto said. “We met in Book Town. I’m Niijima.” 

“Yes. I remember. We had a good discussion then about tactics.” Hifumi was now standing too close to Makoto. Ann couldn’t tell whether what she was feeling was jealousy or protectiveness; mostly she was still dizzy from being discovered so quickly. “Takamaki-san filled me in about Akira-kun’s situation. I’m ready to lend my support to Akira-kun at any time, although I’m not sure what I can do just yet.” 

“Your support is all we need,” Makoto said smoothly. “Why don’t the three of us exchange contact information? If any of us come up with any ideas, we should get in touch. Right, Ann?” 

Ann nodded. She nearly dropped her phone taking it out of her pocket, but she got it out and got Hifumi’s number and chat ID without any other hiccups. They parted on the street as cheerfully as old friends. Once Hifumi passed from their view, Ann felt incredible relief. Then, looking over at Makoto’s composed face, immobile and inscrutable, she felt her tension build up again. She had run after Hifumi on an impulse that had risen within her while talking to Makoto and then Hifumi had gone ahead and flipped everything upside down by being someone completely different from who Ann thought she’d be. Now that Hifumi was gone, that earlier restless feeling had come back. She wished Akira were back so he could shake his head at her for barreling forward without thinking again—but she knew, too, that Akira couldn’t have stopped her from running. 

“Hey,” Ann said. “What did you buy?” 

Makoto lifted the book out of her bag. It was a recent novel, slim and with a pretty print pattern on the cover. “Just some light reading. You really did just run up to her. But thanks to that, we got the information we needed.” 

“Anything for the mission, right?” Ann said, turning her face into the cloud of her pigtail. She didn’t know why she averted her eyes, only that she had to. 

“While we’re in Shibuya, why don’t we get something to eat?” 

They wound up at the usual diner, splitting a kindness steak and a Fruitea between them while they talked. Makoto had finished the Center Test, but she still had some university entrance exams lined up. That would take her until the end of February, more or less. 

“I signed up for a cram school in the area,” Makoto said. “I don’t know how much of a difference it’s making, but it’s helpful having some structure. I happened to see Togo-san in the bookstore and wanted to talk to her but, as you saw, was unable to approach her directly.” She took a long drink of the Fruitea and sighed. “I feel like my social skills have deteriorated since the exams started.” 

“Your indirect approach has a lot of charm, too,” Ann said. 

“Please, stop teasing me already.” 

“I mean it as a compliment. Seriously! It’s cute because it’s something only you would do, even though you’re so serious, and we know how hard you’re trying. It’s a sign of your sincerity.” Ann took Makoto by the hand, squeezing it and giving it a few shakes. “Do you believe me when I say I’m not making fun of you? Okay, maybe I am. But not in a mean way, right?” 

“I believe the ‘not in the mean way’ part, at least,” Makoto said. She turned her hand over so they were palm to palm, and took Ann’s hand in both of hers. “Thank you for trying to cheer me up.” 

“Yeah,” Ann said. Her throat felt constricted. She grabbed the Fruitea and took a few sips, but that didn’t make it any easier for her. She slipped her hand out of Makoto’s grasp and folded her arm along the edge of the table and drummed her fingers against the wood. “Shiho’s been studying hard, too. I’ve been doing a lot of academic cheerleading lately.”

“I’m glad that you’re there to support her.” 

“I’m not the only one there.” 

“Yes, but your support means something special. You can’t forget that. Honestly, I envy you two sometimes. I feel bad for Togo-san, though. For Akira to go and turn himself in without even sending her a text…” 

“He didn’t tell any of us, either.” 

“Yes, but to not tell your own girlfriend is going too far.”

“Fweh!” Ann said, choking on the Fruitea. 

“It’s pure speculation on my part, of course!” Makoto said. “Here, use my napkin.”

“Do you—” She wiped her mouth with the napkin. She had just figured out the parallel Makoto had set up earlier. “I’m not _with_ Shiho. Not like Akira might be with Togo-san.” 

Makoto’s ears and cheeks turned red. She covered half of her face with her hand and turned toward the wall. “I’m sorry, I didn’t… You must think I’m presumptuous.” 

“No, it’s okay. You’re not totally wrong. I mean, you’re wrong, but not like…” This was so awful. She couldn’t tell what she was trying to say or whether what she was saying was the truth. She wished Ryuji or Akira were here. They’d let her freak out and yell for a few seconds, maybe even say something dumb to distract her. With Makoto, she wanted to be a reliable underclassman, a good comrade, a front-line fighter. In other words, the kind of person who wouldn’t spit Fruitea on the table just because someone suggested she might have a girlfriend. “Do you really think he and Togo-san were together? It didn’t sound like it when I was talking to her.” 

“As you can see for yourself, I’m not very good at telling when people are in relationships,” Makoto said. “Did I make you uncomfortable?” 

“I’m telling you, it’s not a big deal.” 

They paid for their meal at the register and returned to Shibuya. Since they took different transfers out, they parted by the walkway. Ann wound up lunging at her and throwing her arms around Makoto’s shoulders to wrap around her back. Makoto’s shoulder dug into her armpit and Makoto’s hands against her back were curled into each other. As far as hugs went, this one was a clear failure, but she hung on anyway. 

“Well, good luck on your last exams!” she said. 

“Make sure you keep up with your schoolwork, too,” Makoto said, reaching over to squeeze Ann’s arm. The part of Ann that was Carmen liked the warmth in her eyes, the firm grasp of her hand, and the certainty that Makoto would pass her exams. Ann gave Makoto her best smile and said goodbye. 

 

***

 

She didn’t call Shiho every day, although for a while she had done so out of a kind of compulsion. She had been worried about Shiho for so long that she wasn’t used to not hovering in the peripheral of Shiho’s life, trying to, at first, shield her, then just pushing her along as needed. Before she knew it, Shiho was walking along on her own separate path without her, and it was okay to let her go. At least, she thought it was okay. Everything from Okumura’s Palace on felt like it came from a different universe altogether. A man had died, their identities were exposed, tricking Akechi, taking down the future Prime Minister of Japan—and there she was, still going to class on top of that. 

But it could have been plain selfishness on her part. She had realized this when she went to see Shiho during New Year instead of going with the other thieves. It would have made more sense for her to continue seeing Shiho during this time if she wanted to keep her cover, to show that nothing was wrong and that nothing had changed. She had waited at the steps of the shrine in case Shiho needed help going up, only for Shiho to call her ten minutes after their appointed time. Shiho was already at the shrine and had been waiting for a while now. Was Ann still planning on coming? 

She hadn’t lied to Makoto earlier. They weren’t dating. Between Kamoshida, the coma, and Shiho transferring schools, Ann wasn’t sure she wanted them to be dating, either. If they did, she felt like she wouldn’t be able to control herself; that her feelings might, like a too hot bath, burn her if she let herself be taken away by them. But that didn’t mean she didn’t want to try, bad idea or not. 

They usually talked two or three times a week. Once Ann got home from her dinner with Makoto, she called right away. She let Shiho go first: Shiho had joined the literature club and was helping out with the theater club, too; her pediatrician was retiring and recommended another doctor to her, but she didn’t like the new doctor as much and was thinking about changing it; and an upperclassman in the theater club had asked her out on a date. 

“But I couldn’t see myself with him,” Shiho said. “So I said no.”

“If you need help turning him down, I can show up after school sometime,” Ann said. “I’m totally willing to stare him down.”

“If you did that, I feel like you’d end up with a bunch of fans.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” 

“Your strength draws people to you, so you’ll naturally attract people looking for a defender—did it sound like I meant it in a different way?” 

“No, no, I got you now. My friends keep making jokes about how I’m like a dominatrix or something now because… because… I showed up to a meeting wearing high heels and leather pants once.” 

“I’m just happy you’re having so much fun with your friends at school now,” Shiho said. “What did you do today?” 

“I don’t know,” she said, tugging at her hair with her fingers. She’s never been good at talking about her Phantom Thief stuff with Shiho, and everything that had happened with Hifumi today fell under that umbrella. That left her conversation with Makoto in the diner, and she wasn’t sure whether she wanted to talk about that, either. “Shiho, do you think you want to date in high school?”

“I don’t know. When I was in Shujin, it seemed impossible, but it might happen here, if it’s the right person.” Her tone was level and unsurprised by her own answer. She had clearly thought about this before Ann had asked. “Are you interested in someone?” 

“No, no, nope. No one. I only asked because today I ran into a senpai after school and she said she thought we were—together.”

“But we’re not. That’s a strange thing to assume right off the bat. I wonder why she thought that? She must be like that herself.”

“Well, so what?” Ann muttered. It took her a second to catch onto the other thing that Shiho was signaling: that she didn’t see herself as someone who was attracted to women in that way. It was a mark of difference between them, a stark and plain divide. “She’s not the best at understanding relationships, but she’s really nice once you get to know her. Did I tell you how we met today? She saw her following around a girl in a bookstore because she was too shy to go up and talk to her. I had to go play wingman. It was pretty exciting.” 

“Really! How did the talk go?” 

“It was all right. They exchanged contact information, so something must’ve gone right? Maybe?” She was getting better at this improv thing. Although this time, it wasn’t a total lie. In fact, the more Ann thought about it, the more she thought it might be true, that the real reason why Makoto had been so reluctant to approach Hifumi was because of a crush, and that her prickliness had been because she had been embarrassed about her feelings. “I should help them get together,” she said. 

“But you don’t know much about relationships, either. Don’t you think you need to train first?” 

“It’ll be fine!” But Shiho had a point. All the other Thieves were terrible practice material. Yusuke and Ryuji were hopeless, Futaba wasn’t interested at the moment, and Akira was in detention. That left Haru, who was a sweetheart and didn’t deserve to be used as someone’s training fodder. She gave it some more thought and decided: “I’ll do it online.” 

They talked for a while longer before hanging up. Ann put her phone down on the coffee table next to her. That was a phone call from my best friend, she thought. It was good that Shiho could talk about rejecting guys and dating. 

She had once thought she had been in love with Shiho, but her mind was adapting magnificently to the idea that Shiho didn’t like her that way. Wasn’t it supposed to hurt more? Suppose that, sometime over the last few months, those feelings had transformed from one thing to another, and, like cicadas, had shed their skin, and flew away, leaving her with the old skin. And, out of habit, she hadn’t realized the old skin wasn’t the actual insect until some other cicadas landed next to it and started their summer screaming—suppose something like that happened.

“Weird,” she said.


	2. Cameras

3 People  
  
Hifumi  
It was an honor meeting you both yesterday, Takamaki-san and Niijima-san.  
Same, Togo-san. It’s always great meeting more of Akira’s friends.  
Hifumi  
I’ve been thinking about how to help him, and I’ve come up with a plan.  
I don’t know how much you know about me, but I was at the center of a small scandal in the shogi world a few months ago. I’m working my way back up the amateur ranks and have an important match on Sunday.   
Makoto  
I understand what you mean. You want to use the attention to Akira’s advantage, correct?  
Hifumi  
Yes.  
No matter what I do, it’ll garner a lot of attention. The only question I have is whether some shogi magazines and blogs will be enough.   
My new manager mentioned some other magazines might be interested in interviewing me after this match. The audience would be much wider than the shogi world. And if it’s for his sake, I’m willing.   
Makoto  
Announcing it to the shogi world should be enough.   
Hifumi  
Are you certain? It would be advantageous. I’m willing.   
Makoto  
Thank you, but there are image issues at play here. And if you announce it too widely, you may come under suspicion as one of our agents. The investigation against us may start up again at any moment.   
This is just as much about as protecting our assets as it is helping Akira.   
A magazine might not be that useful, anyway. If it’s a fashion shoot, they might not even ask you the right kinds of questions.   
Even if they want to talk more about shogi, there’s a chance anything about Akira might get cut out by the editorial team.   
Makoto  
Those are excellent points, Ann.   
Thanks!   
Airtime is more valuable than a magazine spread. So if there are cameras, you should use those!   
Hifumi  
I see. Thank you for your input, Takamaki-san and Niijima-san. There should be a news network tracking my match.   
Win or lose, I’ll make the most of the cameras.   
If either of you are free, please come watch my match. I’m sure I’ll perform better with friends watching.   
Makoto would LOVE to see you after the match, Togo-san. I’ll be there, too, to cheer you on.   
Makoto  
.............   
We’ll both DEFINITELY be there!   
Hifumi  
Thank you so much!   
I’ll send you both an invite later. Come watch me defend my kingdom. If you have the time.   


***

 

The tournament was held in a hotel in the outskirts of Tokyo. Non-participants were not allowed to go into the playing room, and Makoto wouldn’t be done with her match until later that afternoon. Hifumi’s match was one of the last in the day. Ann wound up in the lobby with what looked like a random assortment of family members, bloggers, and shogi enthusiasts, checking her phone occasionally to see whether Makoto was on her way over yet. 

According to Shiho, she was getting too worked up over this, since plenty of people went out on one date and then bounced right off one another. This was, as far as Ann was concerned, statistically impossible. Ann didn’t know that much about shogi, but she bet Hifumi had to be smart, and she bet Makoto only liked smart people. And Hifumi was beautiful enough to make Makoto want to hide behind a book. And who wouldn’t want to date Makoto? She looked great in tight pants, and she was so kind. The spikes on her shoulders and hands were an aesthetic flourish, not a warning. 

She had already messaged Hifumi and Makoto to let them know she was here, but neither had responded yet, for good reasons. Hifumi was likely preparing for the match, and Makoto was finishing up her exam. She spent the time browsing the Internet on her phone. She looked up some more information about Hifumi. 

By this point, they had heard of some of Akira’s other friends. At first it had come up by pure chance. They had done a few online searches of Akira’s name while looking for any documents that might be available online, and found a short article: “So-Called Plague Speaks Out About Juvenile Delinquent Test Subject.” Some more search revealed that the doctor worked in Yongen and that she was rumored to provide powerful drugs—probably the same drugs they had chugged in the Metaverse. And as the weeks went on, more and more people spoke up on Akira’s behalf: a former politician, a fishy looking reporter, an owner of, the newspaper kept stressing, a very reputable small business in Center Street. There were probably more waiting to come out. 

The people who vouched for Akira were, as a rule, somehow disgraced or suspicious. And when Ann fired up her search engine for Hifumi, the result was more or less what she expected. Hifumi’s mother had fixed a bunch of matches. It had been a big deal in the amateur shogi world and everyone thought she would have to quit, but Hifumi kept playing, anyway. Reports about her matches had tons of comments on them, hardly any of them kind. Poor girl, Ann thought. It hadn’t been her fault, but now everyone felt free to badmouth her because of what her mother had done. 

She didn’t understand much about the technicalities of Hifumi’s matches, so she skipped the blog posts speculating which of Hifumi’s matches she had won outright and which ones had been thrown. She read through a few of the fluff interviews. 

_My ideal partner would have to have some shogi sense. Sense is different from skill. I hope to be with someone who will let me play shogi for a long time. In the summer, I prefer to wear things with loose sleeves._

_I think natural black hair is fine, too. A person’s hair is up to them._

_My mother helps with my diet. She tries to balance it so my brain has enough power to function. I don’t think so much about weight._

_I love shogi more than anything. Would you like to hear more about my favorite moves? … Both contacts and glasses are fine on men. I like well-chosen frames best._

Poor Hifumi, Ann thought. The interviews weren’t interested in her as a shogi player at all. It was all about making her seem sexy. All of the articles she read were from before the revelation about the match fixing. After that, it seemed like she had stopped doing interviews. 

For Ann, modeling wasn’t about attracting people’s gazes. It was all about using her body to convey a mood or an atmosphere. It was a collaboration between her and the camera, which became a collaboration between her and the world. But if you didn’t know how to handle the cameras, how to make yourself a solid object in the photograph, then they’d destroy you. You’d be nothing but a blank vessel for some editor to tweak. It wasn’t about your natural worthiness as a person; it was a skill and a talent. It wasn’t fair to put someone in front of the camera unless they had a strong advocate behind them. Ann had her parents early on in her career and could handle herself now. And Hifumi had her mother, in the past. 

A second later, the main doors opened and Hifumi came out. She was trailed by two reporters, who kept trying to run in front of her. Hifumi nearly tripped over one of them. “Watch it!” the reporter barked. Ann got up and ran over to Hifumi. She gave the reporter a shove. 

“Excuse me!” Ann said. “I have to take Togo-san now. Bye-bye!” 

She took Hifumi out of the hotel. It had snowed the day before, and soon they were both shivering, Ann in her letter jacket and Hifumi in a long geometric dress that fit her like a sheath. 

“Are you finished with your matches already?” Ann said. 

“No,” Hifumi said. “Actually, I just wanted to use the restroom, but the women’s bathroom in that wing isn’t working. I was on my way to the other wing of the hotel when those reporters cornered me.” 

“Oh no! I’m so sorry. Do you need to go right now?” 

“I can wait. I’m just happy to see you here cheering me on.” 

“Of course I’m here!” Ann said. “We promised, after all. Makoto’s still at her exam, but she’ll be here later.” 

“That’s okay. I understand. I’m grateful to have even a single friendly face in the lobby.” She shifted from side to side. 

“Let’s get you to the bathroom,” Ann said, and took Hifumi back inside. She glared at the reporters as she led Hifumi to the bathroom in the other wing, and waited for her until she came back out. “Do you want me to say something to them?” 

“No. Thank you, though.” 

“I can’t stand those guys sometimes. Especially after everything they kept writing about you.”

“It’s true, but they’re a part of the sport. The only way to change them is to impress them with brilliant games and victories, so it’s really up to me now, isn’t it?” She smiled at Ann, that same girlish smile she had given her in Shibuya. “I’m looking forward to them today. I’ll make my announcement after this next match, so please wait a little while longer. Were you watching my matches?” 

“No. I don’t know anything about shogi,” Ann said, laughing awkwardly. “I’m probably better at chess?” 

“I play chess, too.” 

“I’ve—I’ve never played chess, either.” 

“You don’t have to feel bad about it. We could even just play cards. I’m pretty good at Old Maid.” 

“You don’t have to descend that far! Okay,” she said. “We can hang out. Actually—you and Makoto would probably have more fun playing without me. I’m not sure what all three of us can do together.”

“Please, Takamaki-san, don’t be intimidated by me. I shout out my moves when I’m excited, and once I sprained my finger because I slammed down a shogi piece too hard. I’ve been told I look silly when I play because of this, so there’s a chance I might even make you laugh.” Hifumi checked her phone. “I have to return to my match. I’ll be giving interviews and such afterwards, so you should go home after my last match. I can message you with the details later. Is that okay?” 

“That sounds perfect.” She could set Makoto up with Hifumi some other time, she figured. “I know they’ll want to interview you whether you win or lose, but I hope you win out there.”

“Thank you. Well, I’ll be going now,” Hifumi said, lowering her head. 

In movies, this would be the point where the heroine kissed the hero for good luck. She had always been aware of these moments; as a model, she and the photographer would chase after that kind of mood and atmosphere for the perfect photo. And, gazing into the eyes of her partner, she was always satisfied with the way she looked, and watched them only to admire their form and to see whether her pose was having the right effect. So she recognized the impulse that went through her, and recognized, too, that thinking about Hifumi together with another woman had primed her to imagine herself as one of these other women. She leaned against the wall to break the spell, but the impulse didn’t leave her—if anything, it took hold in her more firmly, and even sparkled, mocking her attempt to throw it off. 

 

***

 

Makoto arrived about an hour later. She wasn’t much better at shogi than Ann was, but she had looked up some videos in anticipation of this match, and had even reviewed some of Hifumi’s previous matches. On the subway, she had watched Hifumi’s match on her phone, although, she told Ann, she did not have a perfect grasp on the game. 

“I’m surprised you remember anything after doing all that studying for your exams,” Ann said. She leaned against Makoto to see the phone screen better and her breasts pressed against the side of Makoto’s arm. Makoto’s eyes flickered to the side, but not for long. 

“It made my study breaks more productive,” Makoto said. “This is Togo-san’s last match of the day. Do you want to watch it with commentary?” 

“I won’t have a clue what’s going on with or without it,” she said with a laugh. Her phone rang. It was Shiho. “Sorry, I have to get this. I’ll be back, okay?” 

“I just don’t understand why she’s playing like some eccentric old biddy,” Makoto muttered, squinting at her phone’s screen. 

It was a Sunday, one of their usual call days, but they usually talked later than this. There were no new Line messages from Shiho, either. Ann answered the phone in a voice as close she could think of to neutral as possible. “Shiho?” 

“I’m sorry if I’m bothering you,” Shiho said.

“You’re never bothering me.” She didn’t like the way Shiho sounded. She didn’t sound like she was in pain, but there was something gloomy in her voice that made her think, instinctively, of Shiho getting ready for volleyball. “Are you all right?” 

“I’m okay. Are you in Shibuya right now? I stopped by the Underground Mall, but I didn’t see you anywhere.” 

“You went all the way there? Sorry, I should’ve let you know. I’m at a shogi tournament out in the sticks. Do you want me to come over?” 

“There’s no need for that. I just wanted to tell you about my date.” Shiho sighed into the phone. “I should’ve had you come to my school after all. That guy was too persistent. I wound up saying yes and had to reject him again today, but I don’t think he thought I was serious enough.” 

Ann felt her vision waver. She held onto her phone and tried to keep her temper in check, but it was hard. All she wanted to do was run over and beat this guy’s face in until he understood. “Are you safe right now?” 

“Of course I am,” Shiho replied testily. “It was a normal date, but it just wasn’t… fun.”

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to make sure.” Ann leaned against the wall. She was positioned by the hallway leading to the buffet just outside the lobby, but still close enough to see Makoto watching the match on her phone. “Do you need me to… I don’t mind going over to your school. I don’t care if I get arrested for it. I’ll beat him until he cries.” 

“No, that’s okay. He’s a pest, but he isn’t… I don’t think so, at least.” She laughed suddenly. “I have friends here who can help me tell him off here, too. I wonder why I forgot that. Thank you. You’re always helping me in small ways. Whenever I feel like I’m alone in the world, I think about you or my parents, and that helps me remember the other people in my life.” What a relief it was to hear Shiho declare herself all right and to recognize the other people who were there for her. A few weeks ago, Ann would’ve felt almost hurt by this, afraid that they were drifting apart, but now all she felt was real and sincere happiness. “When did you start playing shogi, Ann?” 

“I’m only out here because this girl my senpai’s interested in is playing in it.” 

She hadn’t thought there was anything wrong with what she said, but Shiho clicked her tongue and sighed loudly. “Ann, you can be more honest with me,” Shiho said, her voice quietly exasperated. “I know your senpai doesn’t actually exist. You were talking about yourself in the third person because you didn’t know whether I’d take the news that you were interested in another girl well or not, and once you got stuck on that, you didn’t want to admit that you doubted me.” 

“What?!” 

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? Taking up new hobbies because a girl you like is into them and following them a long way to cheer them on during a tournament is something right out of a shoujo manga. I think you should just go and confess your feelings already. Stalking is wrong.” 

“No! Oh my god.” Ann covered her face with her hands. She couldn’t tell Shiho this was Phantom Thief business, but without that prior knowledge, this whole venture looked like an sad, obsessive crush. She wanted to say that Makoto was right there, and real, and probably interested—but when she thought about it, she had never asked Makoto outright whether she might be a lesbian or interested in women, and she also hadn’t asked Hifumi, either. Just an hour ago, she had been having vivid fantasies about kissing Hifumi outside of the bathroom. What if Shiho was right about this? “Shiho, what do I do?” 

“If she wins, maybe take her out on a date right away? Make it an on the spot proposal? It’s hard for me to think about that kind of thing.” 

“No, no, I mean—I know it’s going to sound crazy, but there actually is a senpai, and the girl I’m trying to set her up with is—she’s gorgeous!” Ann pulled at her own hair. “And—I didn’t ask if either one of them liked women or not, like, at all. How do I—I’m in a real pickle here!” 

“I—oh my gosh,” Shiho said, and burst out laughing. “I’m sorry, Ann, but oh my gosh.” 

Ann peeked around the corner to see whether Makoto was still on the couch. She was still there. She was pumping her fists. She was surprisingly adorable when she wasn’t blackmailing anyone. “I know this is a problem of my own making, but I—I can’t just walk away from this, can I?” 

“I think it’s great,” Shiho said. “I think it’s great that you’re making these types of messes. It’s just like you to not even think twice. Who are you interested in, the senpai or the shogi player?” 

“I guess—I guess the shogi player? She did just ask me out on a date—but I don’t know what type of date it was at all! Should I say no?” Her brain slowed down. She was remembering, now, the original reason for Shiho’s call. “You can tell me if you don’t want to talk about me going on about this.”

“Why? I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable with you talking about dating other girls or dating in general. It’s nice getting to talk to you about these things. In fact, it’s kind of a relief. I’ve missed hearing about your life, too. You’ve been holding back on me.” 

“Not because I didn’t think you can’t handle it. It’s more like… we can’t tell people just yet.” 

“It’s going to be okay, Ann. Even Japan can change.” 

“I hope so,” Ann muttered, before realizing they weren’t talking about the same things. To Ann, her sexuality wasn’t something she had to guard or hide, and she imagined that once she was out of high school, once she was older and more experienced at dating, she wouldn’t care who knew she was bisexual. Why would that matter to anyone except to her? The actual problem was being a Phantom Thief. Akira had turned himself in to keep the rest of them safe. She couldn’t go blurting it out in public until he was free. And even if he was out of juvie, that didn’t mean the investigation against the Phantom Thieves would be dropped for good; and even if they could prove that Shido was behind Okumura’s death, that didn’t take them off the hook for Kamoshida, Madarame, or Kaneshiro. They had done it for a good reason, but now that Makoto had pointed it out, tearing through someone’s projected reality and beating up their Shadows might not be assault, but it could be twisted into something like extortion or battery. She turned her attention back to Makoto. She was getting excited over something again; she hoped for good news. “So you’re saying I should just… go out? On a date? With both of them?” 

“I didn’t say that.” 

“Didn’t you?” she whispered, suddenly unsure. Makoto had looked up from her phone and was searching for her. “I have to go. I’ll call you tonight, all right?” 

She went back to Makoto. She tried to put on her best smile, but there was a part of her in a blank nervousness. 

“Togo-san won,” Makoto said. “Is everything all right with Suzui-san?” 

“She’s always surprising me with how amazing she is. Makoto, can I ask you a—a kind of a personal question? Do you think—say, if there were a girl out there for you, would you mind being set up on a date with her, or are you not into that?!” she said, flashing Makoto a peace sign for no reason except nerves. “I’m sorry, I lost control of myself. Are you interested in women at all?” 

“Are you asking whether I’m a lesbian or…” Makoto’s eyes sought the corners and edges of the room; for a moment, her face transformed from its usual seriousness to something furtive and alert, before smoothing over back to its normal self as her eyes focused on Ann again. “You’re correct. Why are you asking me this now?” 

“I’m… you know, I’m bi, myself. I felt like I should let you know. It feels like you’re taking on a lot of responsibility for everything. And I wanted to let you know that you can talk to me about things instead of keeping them inside.” 

“Thank you,” Makoto said. “But what does this have to do with this date you mentioned earlier?” 

Ann lowered her eyes for a moment to give herself a moment to think. She confirmed, then, Makoto’s potential interest. But she had no sense of Hifumi just yet; and, now that she was slowing down and thinking about things, it didn’t make sense to jump to setting them up just yet. 

“Togo-san invited us out,” she said. “I was wondering whether you wanted to go or not.”

“Have you been trying to set me up on a date with Togo-san?” Makoto said, her brow furrowing. “I don’t see the point.” 

“The point? It’s to get to know someone… maybe.” 

“I’ll be busy for a while yet, so you shouldn’t try to schedule around me,” she said. “Where is Togo-san? I’d like to congratulate her, if possible.”

“She mentioned she’d be held up after her match and that we should go home without her.” 

“Is that so?” Makoto said. She sounded so put out that Ann had this urge to pinch her arm to cheer her up. She did just that, fighting hard to make her fingers felt through the layers of wool and sweater. “Ouch! What was that for?” 

“Let’s go celebrate you finishing another exam,” Ann said. She took Makoto by the arm and rubbed the spot she had pinched in apology. 

The sun had set by now, and the streetlights sent down beams of blue-white light onto the pavement to light their way. As they walked, Ann came to realize that Makoto wouldn’t come with her to meet Hifumi later, and that, if Akira were here, she might be able to recruit him to help her. Or he might tell her to let it go. It was impossible to know because he was locked up. So if Makoto were to say that she didn’t have time to deal with dating or Hifumi because she was taking care of Akira, Ann would understand. Makoto knew what she was doing and she knew how to see it. She bet Makoto didn’t spend so much time tripping over her own feet and that, whatever it was she was doing in the world, she at least knew what she wanted.


	3. Arrows

Ann ran into Yusuke not at his usual spot in the underground walkway in Shibuya, but directly in front of the café she was going to meet Hifumi. 

“What are you doing here?” he said. 

“I could ask you the same question!” she said. She hadn’t been nervous on her way, but suddenly she felt hot, despite the cold weather. “Are you following me?” 

“I was taken out for lunch by a judge of a recent competition. He’s the dean of a fine arts university in Tokyo. As I understand it, he wanted to recruit me.”

“That’s amazing, Yusuke,” she said. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you. Unfortunately, I have no more money on my subway pass. I hoped he would offer to drive me home, but he had chosen a taxi to be his steed to the restaurant instead.” He tilted his head and stared at her. 

When did he get so bold about asking for money? It was probably Akira’s fault somehow. “All right, I get it,” she said. She reached into her purse and fished out a five hundred yen coin. “That should be enough, right?” 

“I cannot simply accept this without reciprocating in some fashion.” 

“If you spend that money on me, you’re not going to be able to go home, you know?” she said. 

She opened the door to the café and was about to go through when Yusuke suddenly surged forward. “Wait!” he said, trying to go in with her. “You must let me buy you some canned tea! Then I’ll have enough for my subway fare!” 

“I don’t need your canned tea, I’m on a date!”

“With who? Someone we don’t know?” he demanded. “Impossible!” 

She tried to shut the door on him, but he slipped past and now stood at her side, looking for a vending machine where he could get canned tea for her. Hifumi had already gotten a table and was standing up to greet Ann. Ann went to her and, to her mortification, Yusuke tagged along, despite Ann trying to bat him away. 

“I didn’t know you and Kitagawa-kun knew each other,” Hifumi said. 

“Hmm?” Yusuke gave Hifumi an appraising stare, then said, “I don’t see what connection you have with Ann, Togo-san.”

“I’ll tell you later,” Ann said. “Go home or something. Togo-san and I have to talk privately.”

“Perhaps I will observe the patrons at this café instead. I wouldn’t have thought to come inside until you went in yourself.” 

“But you have to buy a drink to stay inside.” 

“Goodbye,” he said, and walked right out. 

“I’m so sorry about that,” Ann said once he was gone and she had ordered her drink. She sat down across from Hifumi. “We’re both normally better than that.”

“Don’t worry,” Hifumi said. “Kitagawa-kun’s well known for his eccentricities at school, too. I didn’t know he had friends outside of school.” 

Hifumi looked more nervous than Ann thought. She didn’t know whether to chalk it up to something that had happened to her earlier or if it was their present circumstance, the circumstance of being on a date, or something else entirely. Ann decided to start the conversation. “So, do you want to start playing now or wait until later?” 

“Yes—yes, let’s start off with some shogi. I brought a practice board—the same one I use with Akira-kun, in fact.” She reached into her purse and pulled out the equipment. Hifumi set up the pieces on her side, then instructed Ann how to arrange the pieces, twenty in all, on hers. “I want to thank you for meeting me today.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Ann said. Their conversation felt totally stilted. Had this date been a mistake? “Thanks for teaching me. I don’t have much sense of the game otherwise.”

“I’ll do my best to help you enjoy it.” 

She gave Ann a brief overview of the rules, then started moving the pieces. They played two games, both which resulted in Ann’s total defeat. It didn’t seem to be an exciting game for Hifumi. She didn’t stop smiling or guiding Ann’s choices, but every now and then she’d bite her lip or look as though she might have an outburst. If Makoto were here, she would have been able to give Hifumi a decent game. Then again, Makoto had already looked up the rules of the game online and even watched some videos. 

The games took them about forty minutes. When they were done, they ordered another set of drinks and cake. 

“You can tell me if I sucked at it,” Ann said. 

“You were a perfectly average beginner,” Hifumi said, in a careful way that probably meant that Ann had sucked. “It’s like any other game in the world. If you practice it more, you’ll get better. Besides, if you’re one of the…” She didn’t say it out loud, just let her voice trail off and then smiled. “You must be strong in other aspects of your life, too. Actually, Takamaki-san, I was hoping I could ask you in particular about something. It’s about your part-time job.”

“The… well, we can’t do that anymore,” Ann said. 

“No, not that job. It’s the modeling. I’d like—I would be grateful to you if you could tell me how to become better at it,” Hifumi said. She brought her coffee cup to her mouth but stared at Ann the entire time she drank it. Her shoulders were raised out of apparent nervousness. 

“I don’t mind giving you some tips,” she said slowly. “But I didn’t think you liked modeling that much, if at all. Right?” 

“I didn’t like it before because my mother used it as a way of setting me up for a fall. But I have a new manager now, and he says this will be a way of presenting a new me to the shogi world. Recapturing the fans that I’ve lost. Not just the men, but the women. It’ll be a photoshoot with a fair interview.” If anything, her shoulders only got higher as she said the words. “I agree with his plan of action. I’m winning matches, but I still need more support. And without new publicity, I won’t be able to erase that old image of me. Climbing the ranks might be impossible.” 

“Togo-san, you said at your match that you could overcome them by playing well, didn’t you?” Ann said. “I feel like that’s more in line with who you are than modeling.” 

“I know. But I think it’ll be fine this time, because it’s something that I’ve chosen to do. You know, all the pro shogi players have done photoshoots.” 

“But it’s the wrong way around, isn’t it? You do shoots when you’re already a pro because people want to celebrate your accomplishments, not because they just like looking at you.” 

“I agree. I don’t like doing things for people just because they think I’m pretty. But when it leads to something I need, then it’s convenient.” 

“That’s bullshit,” Ann said immediately. “It’s not convenient if it’s something you’re doing it because you feel like you have to. Convenience is like having someone sell bread in the subway or fresh vegetables you can pick up on your way home. Whoever told you that is a real jerk who doesn’t know anything!” 

“I don’t think—”

“No, it’s true!” She was getting really het up about it now. If she had her whip, she’d be cracking it in midair to prove her point, two or three times, even. “It’s good to make your way through shogi honestly, but submitting yourself to the camera against your will isn’t pragmatic or convenient. If I were you, I’d… well, I’d find whoever told you that and tell them to shove it up their ass!” 

Her forceful exclamations drew the attention of some of the others in the café. Ann tossed her hair back and paid them no mind. She regarded Hifumi from across the shogi board, feeling not like the abysmal beginner, but a real opponent. She liked the way Hifumi looked at her, too, the stifled hope in the way her eyes lowered then came back up then lowered again. 

“But,” Hifumi said, “my friend, he…” 

“That’s your problem right there!” Ann said and slapped the table. Their drinks jumped up with a clatter, and both Ann and Hifumi grabbed onto the table’s edges to steady it. When she slammed her hand against the table, she had jumped to her feet as well. Ann lowered herself back into her seat. “That’s exactly what—you can’t take career advice from men, Togo-san, they don’t know anything. They look at beautiful things but they don’t try to connect with them, you know? You have to shake their hearts.” 

“I must… shake their hearts?” 

“You have to drive the point into them until they get it!” 

“My lance will skewer their conceited eyes like shish kebab!” 

“Yeah!” 

“I’ll salt their fields and set them ablaze with my Righteous Dragon Eye of Flame!” Hifumi cried, standing up abruptly. The cashier came up to their table and asked them to leave the café. 

Outside the café, Ann helped Hifumi take tally of all her pieces. Then they had to get Hifumi’s shogi board into her purse. Ann reached over and straightened out the end of the purse, so the mouth opened wide and let the board slide in without a problem. She helped Hifumi zip it back up. There was a strange pressure inside her chest, one that she had wanted to release ever since she had seen Hifumi, and she said, “I hope I wasn’t overstepping my bounds back there.” 

“Not at all,” Hifumi said. She set her purse over her shoulder. “You said exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you.” 

“That’s good at least.” The pressure in her chest wasn’t going away. “Can I ask you for something?” Hifumi nodded. This was bad, Ann thought. The way that Hifumi was looking at her, Ann could ask her for almost anything and she’d probably say yes. She should be careful and not take advantage—even as she thought this, she bit her lip and said, “Could I have a kiss?” 

Hifumi looked up at Ann, her expression one of plain shock. Then her face recovered. “I don’t mind it,” she said. 

“You don’t have to force yourself,” Ann said. “I don’t know what came over me. We can pretend I didn’t… that wasn’t even what I meant to ask.” 

“It’s all right. Anyone would be happy to kiss you. But not here, if you don’t mind.” 

They walked together to the train station. Yusuke was waiting behind the turnstiles, holding a can of Earl Green in one hand and Mayo Locust in the other. Ann tugged at Hifumi’s arm and pulled them into an area by a set of stairs, hidden from Yusuke’s view. There was no one coming through and, up ahead, Ann saw a construction sign. By all means, the walk should have killed her desire to follow through with her request, but she wanted it even more now. Her forehead and chest were overcome by heat. 

They were about the same height, so it was as simple as leaning in and letting their lips touch. She didn’t want it to be a weird thing, and she kept it light and quick, especially once she heard the way Hifumi’s breath caught and the momentary stiffening of her shoulders; it didn’t seem like Hifumi had been kissed too often, and Ann found herself hoping she wasn’t Hifumi’s first kiss. Once they parted, she was relieved that it had gone well. The pressure in her chest was gone. She was satisfied and happy, and guilty, too. 

“I’m sorry if I pressured you into doing it,” she said. 

“You didn’t,” Hifumi said, this time firmly. She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms in thought. “When you proposed it, I was surprised. But it felt natural to go ahead and do it. I felt drawn to you. You might not remember this, but you gave me some advice once. At a photoshoot on a beach.” 

It was embarrassing to admit it, but she didn’t remember the photoshoot at all. A mild, agitated fever momentarily came over her. She wanted to be kissed again; she wanted to know more about this photoshoot; she wanted both of those, but she couldn’t do them at the same time or in the order she wanted. “What kind of advice did I give?” she said, trying to not bounce up and down on her toes. 

“You said to pretend I was blending in with the background and to really let the clothes stand out, to be myself, and to not let anyone get in my way.”

The advice she had given back then completely contradicted the advice she had just given Hifumi in the café. She winced. “You must think I’m talking out of both sides of my mouth,” she said. 

“It’s not what you say, but the way you say it,” Hifumi said. “You meant it both times. That’s a useful skill, too.” 

“That just means I’m a hypocrite!” she said, putting her palms to her forehead. 

Hifumi laughed. She reached over and tugged at the elastic on Ann’s sleeves until her hands fell away from her face. She was going to kiss Ann again—that was what Ann thought. But instead Hifumi embraced her and held on. She hadn’t expected Hifumi to be so shamelessly demonstrative, and Ann’s first reaction was to stiffen before she relaxed into it. 

In a way it felt more intimate than anything she had done with anyone, even more than their kiss. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had held onto her like this. Akira’s weird hug ambush on the rooftop? No. That was too long ago. Shiho at New Year’s? No; they had thrown their arms around each other’s shoulders, but they hadn’t hugged. Walking side-by-side with Makoto—pushing against her, she realized now, deliberately, to try to push Makoto into reaching back? There was something sad about goading the person you liked into giving you more than earnest hand clasping. Her parents were huggers, but they were almost never around. And the other Phantom Thieves weren’t into this. When she thought about it like that, it sounded like something perverse, but all she meant was this hug, this moment. The feeling inside her was a complicated kind of gratitude. She wondered whether she should pull away, but Hifumi’s hands were hot against her back. She couldn’t bring herself to part. 

“I wonder if we’ll ever see each other again,” Hifumi said into her shoulder. The heat from her breath seeped through Ann’s clothes and into her skin. And then she let go. 

 

***

 

She didn’t mention the kiss to Shiho on their next phone call. She didn’t bring it up until Yusuke passed a message along from Hifumi a few days later thanking her for the advice. Something about the way the message had been passed to her through Yusuke struck her as unnecessarily complicated. They had each other’s numbers and chat IDs. She could’ve just sent her a Line. 

“If she’s sending it through someone else, maybe it means she doesn’t want to talk?” Shiho said. “It sounds pretty cold to me.” 

“I dunno. She’s pretty awkward. She could have thought it’d seem more personal this way.” 

“That can’t be it,” Shiho said. “It’s what I do to people when I don’t want to talk to them anymore. I get someone else to talk to them instead.” 

“But Yusuke?” Ann said. “I mean, getting Yusuke to remember to do anything for you isn’t easy. She would’ve had to gone through a lot of trouble.” 

“It might not be anything she has against you. Sometimes you only need to see someone once to get everything you need out of them.”

“So it was like a one night stand?” 

“That’s not what I said… I think.” 

As Shiho had pointed out, resolving it would’ve been easy enough: after the phone call she could’ve sent a message to Hifumi herself. But she didn’t do anything about it. Right after she got off the phone, Makoto called her and said she wanted to take a study break, and so she left her apartment and went over. And they kept going out on dates, and then they started fooling around, and she stopped thinking about Hifumi almost entirely. 

It was summer vacation of her third year by the time she thought about Hifumi again. Akira invited everyone to the attic of Leblanc and they were all slowly overheating: Ryuji and Futaba were fighting for access to the fan on the floor. Yusuke was resting in front of Akira’s long dead plant and was covering his face with his hands. Morgana was blocking the breeze by sitting right on the windowsill. Haru was fanning herself with a sheaf of menus, occasionally saying things like, “Akira, did you know heat stroke is a common cause of death?” 

Makoto was the only one who had yet to arrive. A train had broken down in the subway, and she had decided to walk back to her dorm and get on her bike instead. She had reported this to Akira, who had put his phone on speaker.

“It’ll take you even longer to get here if you have to go all the way back for your bike, though,” Akira said. 

“Are you going to stop me?” Makoto said. 

“I’m only saying.”

“It’s really all about how you feel,” Ann said, knowing that if Makoto came on the subway she’d arrive cranky and in the mood to organize, not sit around in Akira’s room and talk. She’d end up trying to send them out on an outing, and everyone would complain and they’d end up in the diner in Shibuya grousing about how they should’ve just stayed at Leblanc, and that didn’t sound like a good time for any of them. “I think you look pretty hot on a bike, you know?” 

“That settles it, then,” Makoto said. 

“I don’t think you should let your girlfriend’s libido dictate your punctuality,” Akira said, but it was too late. Makoto had hung up. And Akira had sighed and looked up at her over his glasses and said, “I know you’re pretty enough to get the results you want, but you should use it for the greater good, not just when it’s convenient for you. Don’t you think?” 

It wasn’t an exact match for what Hifumi had said back then, but something about his ironic smile and the way his eyes scrunched up when he smiled reminded her of Hifumi, in her patterned dress and her plain black coat. It still sounded pretty stupid when it came from Akira’s mouth. She reached over and tugged on Akira’s collar a few times. “This is going to sound like a strange question, but do you say that to everyone you know?” 

“Just the beautiful ones,” Akira said with a shrug. “I know a lot of beautiful people.” 

“You’ve never said anything like that to me,” Yusuke said from the floor. 

“Or to me,” Morgana said. 

“I’m not dating either of you, though.” 

“Are you and Togo-san going out?” Ann said. 

“Yeah.” 

“I wonder what Togo-san is like. You prefer people who are well-established in their career, right?” Haru said. 

To Ann’s surprise, Akira’s ears went red. He ducked his head and smiled. “She has a long shogi career,” he said. “But she’s our age, you know?” 

“Thank god,” Morgana squawked. 

“Beauty’s a virtue. That’s what Aristotle says,” Akira said. “It shouldn’t be a burden for people. If you have it, you should flaunt it.” 

“Yeah,” Ryuji said. “What the art turtle said.” 

“Aristotle! He’s a Roman philosopher,” Ann said. 

“Greek, actually,” Yusuke said. 

“They’re all dead, so who cares?” Ryuji said. 

“If you flaunt it, people just hit on you all the time like creeps,” Ann said. “People who say it’s a virtue only say that because they don’t have to think about what other people will do to get it.” 

“That’s your whole job,” Ryuji said. 

“I’m not talking about me!” 

“Beauty is worth pursuing,” Yusuke said. 

“You’re never going to get it,” Ann said with a sigh. 

“You’re right,” Akira said to Ann, ignoring the others. “I wasn’t thinking from your perspective. That’s my bad. I’m going to get some drinks. Water of Rebirth good with everyone?” 

“No!” they all shouted back. 

“Got it,” Akira said, and went down the stairs. 

Ann took Akira’s seat on his bed. She looked out the window, searching for the familiar shape of Makoto’s bike, even though she knew Makoto would have to park at Sojiro’s house, and that Ann was more likely to hear the coarse growl of the engine than to see it. 

So they had been dating at the time after all. She’d have to tell Shiho about it. She had no idea how that phone call would go, whether Shiho would find it funny or whether she’d be disappointed. It wasn’t as though Ann had kissed Hifumi as part of her plan to steal her away, but she had never actually asked Hifumi whether she had been dating him, either. If she was honest with herself, then she hadn’t wanted to know. Now that she knew, she felt kind of like an ass. 

She left Leblanc to help Akira with the drinks. She found him in an alleyway across from Leblanc, sliding coins into the vending machine crammed in the corner of a public bath and a laundromat. It was somehow even more humid back here than it was in the attic. 

“Do you need more change?” Ann said, reaching into her pocket. 

“Thanks,” Akira said. “The prices of the drinks went up since last time.” 

“You’re not really getting us all Water of Rebirth, are you?” 

He laughed, and pushed his glasses up his nose. The sunlight flashed off them. He lined up the cans he already had on the ground by his feet and said, “Did you come down for some fresh air?” 

“No. I wanted to talk to you about something. Is that okay?” 

“Of course it is.” 

“Did Togo-san tell you anything about what she did while you were in juvie?” 

“Yeah. There were two tournaments. She met you and Makoto just before the big one and you helped her come up with a statement to help spring me, and she said that we’re all pretty intimate with each other, with the way we all call each other by our first names. That’s the extent of it. Did you like her?”

“I did. We played a game of shogi at a café together.”

“Did you suck?” 

“I was a perfectly average beginner! … or so she said.” Ann picked up one of the cans of Dr. Salt Neo. “Did she tell you what happened after we played shogi?” 

“Why? Did she dump me?” 

“I can’t believe you! I’m trying to be serious.” Akira didn’t laugh, but he smiled at her and put his hands in his pocket to show that he was listening. Ann leaned against the laundromat, and could feel the vibrations of the washing machines through the wall. “After we played shogi, when we were on our way out, I asked her for a kiss. And we did. We did do that.”

He nodded, and put in another coin in the machine. 

“That’s all you’re going to say?” Ann said. 

“I didn’t say anything,” he said. 

“Are you mad?” 

“Not really. I turned myself in without telling her, so for her, I had disappeared. And it takes more than one kiss to make me angry. I can’t imagine that you’d have bad intentions, either. But if you want to feel bad about it…” He held up a can of the horrible placenta juice. “Chug, chug, chug.” 

“Why?” she whispered, but shut her eyes and gulped as much down as she could. The soda was cold and gritty, and it was only her extensive, far too extensive, experience of drinking questionable soda on Akira’s whims that kept her from gagging. 

Later, after they had all gone home for the night, Ann checked online for more information about what Hifumi was up to. Hifumi had risen back to the top of the amateur league and was entertaining the possibility of going pro. There weren’t any new photoshoots; all pictures of her were stills from her post-match interviews or pictures of her in the middle of a match. It looked like Hifumi was doing well. Ann was happy for her. 

She still had Hifumi’s number and contact information. If she wanted to, she could call her right away. But something about what Shiho had said months ago made her stop. Perhaps she and Hifumi had gotten everything they needed out of each other. People weren’t meant to be used. She believed that. But she also thought there was something kind of romantic about the idea of one person coming into your life for just a few days and bumping into you just hard enough to alter the trajectory of your life. 

Romantic or not, it had always bugged her how she had never gotten to set Makoto and Hifumi up on a date. A double date could be fun. She wondered what Hifumi was like around Akira and what new side of him might show up around her; and what new sides of Makoto might show up, too. 

She’d send a message to everyone in the morning. Shiho was going to get a real kick out of this, she thought, and, smiling to herself, she knew she’d enjoy telling Shiho all about it.


End file.
